Despite the long, long (quite, quite long) list I posted earlier this week.
Archive for February, 2012
I just added these adorable, airmail themed, 1″ pinback buttons to my shop.
This weekend I was thinking of the mail button set (above) that is in my Etsy shop. I wanted to make another set, but in different colors. Like that, all of a sudden it came to me that I should design and print out a red and white striped airmail paper and cut the same envelope shapes out.
I love how they came out, and they were so fun to design and create. I think they would be a cute present to send a penpal.
The Oscars are on tonight and it reminded me of a list I recently compiled for a friend. He had asked me for movie suggestions and I realized, though I complain that there’s nothing to watch, I had actually seen a lot of great movies on netflix recently. And when I say recently, some of these movies or shows were things I watched last year. Also, take in mind that I like pretty out there, quirky movies, so you may start watching some of these and question my taste. Also, leave a comment and let me know of any movies you’ve seen lately, that left you thinking about it later. Or if there are any movies on this list below that made you feel something, either way, love or hate, I’d love to hear it.
Fiction
Never Let Me Go
Me Without You
The Tree
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (original verson) and subsequent sequels
The Help
Tree of Life
Tiny Furniture
Splinterheads
Hanna
Beginners
Eagle Vs. Shark
Blue Valentine
Strangers
One Week
Two Lovers
The Future
Spork
Documentary
The Sounds of Insects
Edge of Dreaming
Winnebago Man
Our City Dreams
DIY or Die
Bill Cunningham New York
Candyman: The David Klein Story
1000 Journals
Shut Up Little Man!
TV Shows
Portlandia
The Buried Life
United States of Tara
Sons of Anarchy
American Horror Story
Raising Hope
Downton Abbey
The Killing
Louie
This list reminds me of when I was in high school and college I used to keep a list of every movie I watched. The funny thing about it was that I didn’t really need that list back then, I remembered them all anyway. Now, I really could use that master list. Maybe because of age, and maybe just because of the sheer number of movies I’ve seen, as well as how mundane some movies are, I’ll rent a movie that I’m really excited to see and realize “wait, I already saw this.” If it wasn’t memorable the first time, it’s not gonna get any better the second time around.
And just because of the movie talk, Matt just said “I can’t wait for the Drive-in to open up again.” I just checked the site and saw they open in March, yay!
I was thrilled to discover that I was featured on Craft Magazine’s blog, earlier this week. If you have a moment, hop on over and check it out:
It is swiftly approaching a year from when I jumped into mailart365. Things went well for a good long stretch, and then as usual when I try to commit to any 365 project, I started to fall further and further behind. Then we bought a house and all the stuff that goes along with that (house hunting, emotional rollercoasters, packing and unpacking) dominated my free time.
The project took it’s final blow when there were major changes at my work and I had to give up my Fridays off. In my defense, creating the art was not the problem, as you might find going into my studio. Sadly, I probably have a couple months worth of cards created that I never sent. The problem was finding addresses, actually addressing, writing, attaching postage, documenting (photographing and chronicling who I sent what card where) and actually dropping off the pieces at the post office.
It never stopped nagging at me that I should be working on the mailart365 challenge. It’s obvious that I won’t get it finished in a year, but I’d still like to finish making and sending out 365 pieces of mailart however long it takes me. Soooo, when I saw Hanna was starting to organize her annual postcard swap I thought it would be a perfect way to jump back in and get the ball rolling again. Create 10 mailart postcards and get 10 pieces back through the mail by different artists. Last year there were 2,800(!!!) postcards swapped through this postcard swap. That’s a lot of art going through the mail. Hanna is asking for a $6 (US) donation towards participation this year just because it is a lot to organize and take care of. If you go here, you can check out all the details on the project. Sign up ends March 7th, so there is still plenty of time.
What did you do this weekend? This weekend I made a mess. The picture below is result of my creativity.
This weekend I saw this post on the Craft Blog. I thought these scrappy leaf key fobs were super cute and I wanted to buy one right away, but when I went to the link it was for a pattern to make your own, offered in the etsy shop of WhereTheOrchidsGrow. I was kind of disappointed, because it was cute, but I’d rather someone just make one for me. I kept thinking about the pattern, and read that she gave purchasers the right to sell them. I had the idea that they might be something cute and small enough to fit into my capsule coin machine and so I decided to buy the pattern. Funny enough, it wasn’t until after I had the idea to make a bunch and then purchased the pattern that I read the WHOLE product description and found that she does also sell already completed keychains. It worked out perfectly anyway, because I was able to make all of these:
I sewed while watching shows on hulu and then the season finale of Downton Abbey (which Matt had so kindly downloaded for me weeks ago from the BBC). I used fabric from this big, HUGE bag of scrap quilting fabric from my mom. I also altered the design a little bit, using wool felt for one half, and for the backing as well. They went a lot quicker that way. I already had some eyelets and keychains, so it worked out perfectly. I thought I might remove the keychain and turn some into cell phone charms.
Last night we went with our friend Tom to go see the band Mucca Pazza play at Otto’s. The local newspaper described them as a 30 piece punk marching band. I figured it would be an experience to witness. Looking them up beforehand, I saw that they had played at all the well known clubs in chicago and apparently they were even on Conan O’Brien in 2006.
Here’s a random video I found on youtube, of Mucca Pazza performing, just so you can get an idea. They played this song last night.
There were two opening bands and it wasn’t until I dragged Matt there that I realized he has a bad back, and although he can run a 10K like nobody’s business, standing for long periods gives him great pain. Tom had the idea of seeing if we could pull some strings by association and sit up in the private balcony (like we used to do when he use to work there and when my sister-in-law’s family used to own the place). They gave us the go ahead which was awesome, but also told us not to let anyone else come up, and definitely no more than 6 should be up there. Wouldn’t ya know, when the band came out, a small handful climbed the rickety stairs to our balcony and started playing from up there, making it more than 6 up there. It should have been awesome, but all I could imagine was that the balcony would collapse and we’d be headline news the following day.
We survived and the band was awesome. Not only did they fill the entire stage, but they were often marching around in the audience, sometimes in formation. It was a sight to see for Matt and I, who both marched in bands before. It was a great show and I was very glad at the opportunity to witness it from above like we did.
I can never see my cat sitting like this
without thinking of this
As I mentioned last week, Found Art Tuesday is getting a revival. Rosa has declared the second Tuesday of each month to be Found Art Tuesday, and here I am on St. Valentine’s Day to present you with my first Found Art Tuesday in an eternity.
The front
and the back
Since I’ve been in Artomat mode, painting my mini canvases I thought I’d like to make a little painting for this Valentine’s Day Found Art Tuesday.
It took me a long time to think of where I should leave it. I wanted to get my mom a treat for Valentine’s Day, and I know she loves the cheese popcorn from the local candy store, The Confectionary. Then it hit me. What’s a better place to leave some love themed art, on Valentine’s Day, than in a candy store. Also fitting, as I am a candy addict. Once I decided, then I was nervous and worried about how I would leave it. It’s one thing to quickly ditch it somewhere, and another entirely to stick around and take photos.
Naturally, after we were already on our way I realized I forgot to bring my nice camera with me, so all my pictures are from my cruddy camera phone. The picture on the left above is taken from the Confectionary’s website.
I would have loved to leave the art taped to my favorite jar of candy, but when we got in there the employees were remarking how it was the first time it had slowed down all day, so their attention was entirely on us. Instead I realized they had a bulletin board, so I had Matt pay for the popcorn while I hung my artwork on the board.
It was such a relief to let it go and get out of there. I know Rosa feels like a super slueth or Ninja, but when I leave artwork behind I feel like a criminal. “they’re gonna catch me, they’re gonna catch me” like I could be taken away in cuffs and locked up forever.
Afterwards, since it was Valentine’s Day, Matt and I went to the new Aspen Leaf Yogurt. I’ve been wanting to go to one of these new yogurt type places for a long time, and lo and behold, we suddenly have one in town. I have a feeling that it will be my go-to place during the dog days of summer.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Now I’m off to check and see what Rosa, and others might have contributed. I’d love to hear if you played too.
In honor of Valentine’s Day I thought I would share these images that my sister posted on Instagram recently. They are love letters written by my great grandfather Harrison Wiseheart, to his soon-to-be wife Inez Parrill, my great grandmother. It’s fitting because if I remember correctly, he was a postman. It’s also interesting to me that they were mailed, but no postal address, just her name and city. It looks like it is dated 1905. It was a different time.
“until we can be together all the whole time. Till we ever get weary of each other, no, I can not imagine such a thing. To live for you and to make you happy is henceforth the object of my life. Since I have thought so much recently of the seriousness of the step we are taking, I am more than ever determined to live true to my darling companion…”
Here is another stolen image from my sister’s flickr. This is a picture of Harrison and Inez with 5 of their eventual 7 children. My grandma was the eldest daugher, Sarah Catherine, front and center, born in 1910. Love the pageboy haircut and bow.
Happy Valentine’s Day, I hope you have a “romantical” holiday.
Would anyone like to buy a $10,000 sock?
In response to the bad news (she didn’t win the IL Powerball Lotto on Saturday), I set up an Etsy shop for my sister. She won’t be able to quit her job just yet, but in the meantime if the Etsy shop takes off she can work from home, selling her handknit socks. $20,000 a pair. Okay, I kid, I kid, I didn’t actually set up an Etsy shop for my sister. She really does make awesome handknit socks, and I am the proud owner of two pairs. Those are some of the pairs she’s knitted up, in the mock etsy shop image above. I just doctored up this image because of a story she told me.
She made some socks for a friend and the friend’s husband was so amazed at her skill that he said she should sell them. The thing is, to make it worth it for her, and for how long it takes her to finish them, she said she’d have to sell each sock for $10,000. That cracked me up. $10,000 for ONE sock! I’d like to meet that customer. I didn’t have any pictures of just one sock, so the listings were pairs for $20,000. I am kind of making myself laugh just imagining the heart attack she is going to have when she begins to read this post and thinks I actually set up an Etsy shop for her. Yes, I’m evil, but I hope she also gets a kick out of it :D
